Saturday, June 15, 2013

There is a growing concern of elder abuse. Aging individuals that suffer from mental diseases like dementia are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Below are warning signs that can be helpful to raise a suspicion of elder abuse. Taken individually these warnings are not inherently meaningful. However, any combination of these signs could indicate a problem with abuse.

The caregiver is secretive about the elder’s finances.

The elder is financially supporting the caregiver.

The caregiver isolates the elder from others.

The caregiver insists on being in the room when anyone else is present.

Last spring, Frank Turkaly tried to kill himself. A retiree in a Pittsburgh suburb living on disability checks, he was estranged from friends and family, mired in credit card debt and taking medication for depression, cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure.

It was not the life he had envisioned as a young man in the 1960s and ’70s, when “people were more in tune with each other, people were more prone to help each other,” said Turkaly, 63, who owned a camera shop and later worked at Sears. “There was not this big segregation between the poor and the rich. . . . I thought it was going to continue the same, I didn’t think it was going to change.”

Turkaly said he regrets his attempt to overdose on tranquilizers, which he attributes to social isolation. But in one grim respect he is far from alone: He is part of an alarming trend among baby boomers, whose suicide rates shot up precipitously between 1999 and 2010.

It has long held true that elderly people have higher suicide rates than the overall population. But numbers released in May by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a dramatic spike in suicides among middle-aged people, with the highest increases among men in their 50s, whose rate went up by nearly 50 percent to 30 per 100,000; and women in their early 60s, whose rate rose by nearly 60 percent (though it is still relatively low compared with men, at 7 in 100,000). The highest rates were among white and Native American and Alaskan men. In recent years, deaths by suicide has surpassed deaths by motor vehicle crashes.

June 14 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Financial exploitation of elders is becoming the primary form of elder abuse, often involving family members or even close elderly friends who prey on seniors to gain control of assets. The elder need not have dementia to be victimized. These predators take advantage of physical disabilities — vision, hearing, mobility — to gain an elder’s trust and isolate the elder, to control communication, transportation, medical care and to access mail and credit cards, bank accounts and investments.

Legal mechanisms like power of attorney (POA), guardianship/conservatorship or healthcare proxy (HCP) can be obtained through misrepresentation, coercion, isolation and intimidation of an elder. The abuser then can use the victim’s assets to fight those trying to stop the exploitation.

Another form of abuse is “granny snatching”; an elder is taken out of state under false pretenses (a vacation?) to a perpetrator’s turf, isolated from the elder’s friends, family and familiar medical care. Once there, new legal and financial oversight (guardian, conservator, POA) is obtained. The elder rarely returns.

Alamogordo jurist faced actions over alleged incompetence

SANTA FE – A state district court judge in Alamogordo has resigned to avoid possible disciplinary action by New Mexico’s highest court for alleged misconduct and incompetence in his duties.

District Judge William Brogan resigned Friday under an agreement approved by the state Supreme Court, which released a copy of its order on Tuesday.

The Judicial Standards Commission had started disciplinary proceedings against Brogan for violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct since 2011, including repeatedly failing to follow rules for handing criminal cases.

The commission said the judge “failed to maintain competence in the performance of judicial duties” or was “unable to perform judicial duties competently and diligently.”

The judge required guidance from court staff and attorneys because of his lack of understanding of basic courtroom procedures, the commission said.

Other examples of the alleged misconduct included “failing to be fair and impartial,” improperly completing sentencing forms and “failing to devote adequate time to judicial duties by not scheduling hearings except emergency hearings on Friday and by not allowing hearings to be scheduled after 3:30 p.m.”

With the imminent death of a mother tensions rapidly erupt in her household to dismantle and destroy her family as a consequence of evil.

During a time of obvious lamentation, a devoted son based on a divine covenant with his mother responded to uphold her honor after her sudden and tragic death.

Despite being confronted with one hindrance after another by the wicked acts of his dishonorable siblings, the son reveals a diabolical and criminal conspiracy in progress.

After being challenged and eventually dismissed by the Chicago Police Department, the son discovers that his mother was flagrantly violated upon her death by the suspects in connection with their criminal conduct through a onerous and intense investigation. The culmination of the illegal activity adversely impacting the deceased matriarch's estate occurs in the Circuit Court of Cook County, IL Probate Division. Would the probate court mandated by Illinois State Law to address the outstanding and pressing legal issues concerning the dearly departed in our society allow the criminal activity to be ignored in order to preserve the economic concerns of an influential financial institution?

Lovingly and Orderly: A Son's Lament is a real life account of the arduous task the son accepted upon his own free will inspired by God. The compelling drama is a true indication of the state of affairs in our free market, capitalistic society in the United States of America where guile and clout leaves room for doubt regarding justice in our nation.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Pennsylvania's Superior Court recently decided an important case concerning the validity of a health care power of attorney and living will once an individual becomes incapacitated: In re: Estate and Person of Russell R. Border Jr., an incapacitated person, 2013 PA Super 94 (April 23, 2013).

Because of the importance of the case and the need to recount facts, this will be a two-part article continuing next month.

In 2010, the Berks County Office of Aging filed a petition for appointment of a guardian on behalf of Border, a 62-year old resident of a nursing facility with chronic medical conditions and failing health. Border had a wife and two adult daughters.

In 2007, he executed a health care power of attorney naming his eldest daughter, Renee, as his agent.

The Office of Aging requested that Renee be appointed as guardian of Border's person and nominated an attorney, Sharon Gray, as guardian of the estate. The Orphans' Court Judge entered an order declaring Border to be an incapacitated person, appointed his daughter as guardian of the person, Gray as guardian of the estate, and revoked any other existing health care power of attorney previously executed by Border.

Two weeks later, the Office of Aging filed a motion for reconsideration based upon Renee's decision to remove Border from the nursing facility to return him to his residence, where she intended to care for him. The Office of Aging felt that Renee was not physically able to care for her father and that he belonged in a nursing facility. The Orphans' Court judge agreed and amended its order to appoint Gray as guardian of the estate. For two years, Gray served in the capacity of guardian of Border's person and estate, making all decisions regarding his care and finances.

In March 2012, Border was admitted to the ICU at Reading Hospital, placed on a mechanical ventilator with other forms of life-sustaining treatment. Border's physician contacted Gray to advise that Border's health condition was both terminal and futile, and requested that she authorize removal of life support. Border's family, including his wife, brother, sister and both adult daughters, all agreed with this recommendation. Gray disagreed and asserted her authority as guardian of Border's person to prohibit the removal of life support.

In 2007, Border executed a durable power of attorney for health care and living will, where he appointed his daughter, Renee, as agent. Border elected to have life-sustaining treatments under all categories of situations listed in the living-will document. He also opted for his preferences to serve as a "general guide," acknowledging that "in some situations, the person making the decisions for him may decide something different ... if they think it is in his best interest." Relying upon the living will and conversations between herself and Border (acknowledging, however, that those conversations took place after Border was already incapacitated), Gray refused to authorize removal of life support.

As a result of the conflict between Border's family and Gray as guardian, the hospital filed an emergency petition, seeking the removal of Gray as guardian and suggesting that Border's brother replace Gray. The Orphans' Court Judge did just that, directing that the brother had specific authority to withhold and/or decline any life-sustaining medical treatment, including removing Border from a ventilator.

There needs to be changes made in the Nursing Homes for Residents and Patients to have their 100% Resident Rights Granted. There needs to be Maximum Protection on All Residents and Patients Health and Safety throughout each Health Care Facility. There Needs to be improvements made to assure that each Resident gets the best care possible and that each and every Health Care Facility is fully staffed to care for the ones in need. There should not even be an issue as Nursing Home abuse and neglect. All Residents should be treated with dignity and respect. Together We Can ALL Make a Difference. Let's Make This a Better, Safer, and Healthier World To Live In For ALL!!

HARRISBURG - The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has formed an Elder Law Task Force, chaired by Justice Debra Todd, to study the growing problems involved in guardianship, abuse and neglect, and access to justice. The task force has been charged by Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille with recommending solutions that include court rules, legislation, education and best practices.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the "over-65 population" is now larger in terms of size and percentage of population than it has been in any previous census. Pennsylvania currently ranks fourth in the nation in percentage of people 65 and older. As of the 2010 census, almost 2 million Pennsylvanians - 15.4 percent of the state's population - were over 65 and that number is projected to continue to increase substantially through the year 2020.

"The increased population of older Pennsylvanians has strained the resources of our courts and their ability to provide services to these individuals," Chief Justice Castille said. "The needs of this growing population will continue for years to come, especially in regards to guardianships, elder abuse and access to justice. Now is the time to put in place solutions that will allow older Pennsylvanians to age without worries that they will be abused or their money will be taken."

The task force is made up of 38 elder law experts including judges, lawyers and social workers. The task force will have three subcommittees, one devoted to appointment and qualifications of guardians and attorneys, a second on guardianship monitoring and data collection, and a third on elder abuse and powers of attorney. The work of the group will take approximately one year.

According to research funded by the National Institute of Justice, almost 11 percent of people ages 60 and older, or 5.7 million individuals, suffered from some form of abuse in 2009.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A bill protecting the personal rights of people under a conservatorship passed the state senate judiciary committee Tuesday.

An ABC7 News I-Team investigation uncovered a case in which the Santa Clara County public guardian was restricting visitors to such people without a court order, even calling the police on I-Team reporter Dan Noyes when he tried to visit conservatees.

The bill, sponsored by Assm. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, clarifies a conservatee's rights to have visitors, phone calls and personal mail.

Derek Tate had expected money from a $500,000 life insurance policy would help with things like college and weddings for his children after he died of cancer in 2007.

Instead, much of the money was drained by a Macomb County attorney from the trust fund set up to financially help Tate’s sons, authorities said.

Buschmohle, 40, was charged in February, accused of writing checks to himself over a four-year period from the trust fund. The boys’ mother complained to the Attorney Grievance Commission, which contacted Warren police, after Buschmohle failed to return her calls as the boys reached the fund distribution age of 19, authorities have said.

Stephen Tate said he believes the money went to Buschmohle’s family and friends.

Buschmohle was expected to plead no contest [5/29/13] to embezzlement of $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony, in Macomb County Circuit Court, but the plea did not go off.

Assistant Prosecutor Sian Hengeveld said there was some misunderstanding with the terms and conditions of the sentence the judge was going to give. She said the sentencing agreement was for one year in the county jail and $315,000 in restitution, with 10% due at or before sentencing.

She said the prosecution and defense agreed on the $315,000 figure but there was a separate agreement between the judge and the defense on the jail time. Hengeveld said the Prosecutor’s Office is not offering anything, including a plea offer, and “we are not in agreement with the sentence.”

Buschmohle was disbarred effective May 22 and ordered to pay more than $462,000 in restitution, according to a notice Friday of disbarment and restitution posted on the state Attorney Discipline Board’s website. He had a notice of reprimand and restitution from the board in 2009.

A former prosecutor who had a romantic relationship with embattled Family Court Judge Steven Jones is suing the Clark County district attorney’s office in an effort to clear her name.

In a federal lawsuit filed Friday by lawyer Gary Modafferi, Lisa Willardson denied she and Jones had a relationship while she appeared before the judge, though emails between the couple suggested they were dating at the time.

The 11-page lawsuit says the district attorney’s office spread “false statements” to Las Vegas news media about the relationship between Willardson and Jones, which slandered and defamed her and violated her civil rights.

According to the lawsuit, Willardson also was denied the opportunity for a “name clearing hearing” by the district attorney’s office.

Willardson is asking for an unspecified amount of damages, including back pay with interest.

Disciplinary hearings against sitting judges in Connecticut are rare. There have been 12 since 1989, and Cofield's previous case was one of those dozen. The suspension she received in 2009 was the longest in at least 20 years

After Cofield returned to the bench, she was transferred from the adult criminal court to the juvenile court, which operates behind closed doors.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

An ABC 7 I-Team investigation is getting results for residents of the state's assisted living facilities.

A state Senate committee takes up a bill Tuesday to ensure county conservatees are allowed to have visitors freely.
It seems like something that should be a basic right, being allowed to see family and friends whenever you want. But, one Bay Area public guardian severely restricted access to some of their clients. It even called the police after I tried to visit. Now, that's changing.
Source:
I-Team Investigation Gets Woman More Visits, Law Proposed

More than a year after the Davidson County public guardian double-billed a ward to take her on a shopping trip to Dillards and Walgreens, the judge in the case has ordered a repayment.

The 6.5 hour trip on Jan. 16, 2012, still cost Marlene Spalding $1,462.50, but now she won’t have to pay twice.

The double-billing and the cost of the shopping trip were exposed by The Tennessean in a story about Davidson County's public guardian, Jeanan Stuart, who charged legal rates of $200 to $225 an hour for non-legal services. The Tennessean also found several instances of double-billing.

Court records show 40 open cases assigned to Stuart have been handed over to new conservators.

Seven cases were turned over to the Greater Nashville Regional Council and six each were transferred to Fifty Forward and the Guardianship and Trusts Corporation. Both are nonprofits.

Townsend said some cases will also be assigned to the Michael Dunn Center, a nonprofit serving the developmentally disabled.

Sixteen cases were handed off to private attorneys with Adam Hill getting two and Travenia Holden getting four.

The court records show Stuart still must file final accounting reports in the reassigned cases by a July 31 deadline.

A senior judge is facing a possible suspension over allegations of misbehavior and open displays of bias while on the bench, including an accusation that he threatened to strangle a defense attorney because of a phone call during a death penalty appeal.

The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday in Paducah for Judge Martin McDonald of Louisville, who faces two counts of violating the rules of judicial conduct. Commission attorney George Rabe, in a memo recommending McDonald's suspension from the bench, noted that the judge had a stroke about 18 months ago that limited his ability to filter what he says.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Stanislaus County Court records (Case Number: 387352) show June Guinn was placed under conservatorship on December 12, 2007. The court file lists professional fiduciary Laurie Jamison as conservator. Family and friends say Jamison has kept June hidden from her loved ones since April 2, 2008.

California’s Notice of Conservatee’s Rights states that a conservatee retains the right to “receive visits from family and friends.” California’s Handbook for Conservators further instructs:
“When a person becomes a conservatee, he or she does not lose the right to visit with friends or family. … Do not isolate the conservatee by keeping friends or family away."

This Examiner contacted Jamison for an interview and welfare check with June Guinn. Jamison refused and said, “That would be a HIPPA violation.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services specifies that HIPPA covers only medical information. HIPPA does not apply to an individual's location or general condition.

Professional fiduciary Jamison is committing elder abuse in unlawfully isolating June from her family and friends. As well as being a crime under Penal Code 368, elder abuse by a professional fiduciary is a licensing violation named in the Business and Professions Code 6584(d):
“Fraud, dishonesty, corruption, willful violation of duty, gross negligence or incompetence in practice, or unprofessional conduct in, or related to, the practice of a professional fiduciary."

Advocates filed a complaint with the Professional Fiduciaries Board on Jun 9, 2013.

Police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin “knowingly took advantage” of an elderly resident with dementia, and left a photo of himself at her home, in an effort to inherit about $1.8 million from her estate, according to a pair of court motions filed by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Shriner's Hospital for Children.

Through attorney David Eby, of the Devine Millimet law firm, the pair of medical organizations are asking a Superior Court judge to “set aside” the last will and trust signed by the late Geraldine Webber because, Eby alleges, Webber lacked the competency to endorse them and was under Goodwin's undue influence.

The court motions allege Goodwin established a “confidential and fiduciary relationship” with Webber prior to her death on Dec. 11, 2012, at the age of 93. Webber was suffering from dementia when she executed a new will and trust transferring the “vast majority of Ms. Webber's significant assets to Aaron Goodwin, a 34-year-old police officer” she'd only recently met, according to the court filings.

The Sloan-Kettering Center and Shriner's Hospital for Children were beneficiaries of Webber's previous will signed in 2009. That will, prepared by Portsmouth attorney James Ritzo, stated Webber's assets would be sold and, after her bills were paid, one-fourth of the money would be given to Sloan Kettering of New York, one-fourth to the Shriners hospital in Boston, and the other half split between the Portsmouth police and fire departments.

The new and disputed will and trust, prepared by Hampton attorney Gary Holmes, gives those parties $25,000 each, about 90 percent less.

*Nursing-home patients are often not given the choice of the medical care they do and don't get
Recently one of my patients transferred her 83-year-old mother from a hospital to a nursing home for physical therapy and recuperation after an illness. Upon discharge, her mother went to the nursing home by ambulance. My patient followed shortly after by car. Imagine her surprise when she learned that in the brief interval between her mother’s arrival and hers, a visiting dentist had performed an admission dental exam and—without explanation to or consent from the daughter, who held power of attorney for her mother’s health care—extracted a tooth. Her mother, who was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, was confused and frightened. My patient was enraged.

*Know your rights
The rights of nursing-home residents are protected under the federal Nursing Home Reform Act. Passed in 1987, it applies to every nursing home certified to accept Medicare or Medicaid patients. Among the law’s provisions are the right to freedom of choice over medical care, the right to refuse treatment, and the right to advance notice of changes to the resident’s care or treatment plan.
But some nursing homes disregard the law, and often they get away with it. One reason is that residents or their families might be reluctant to make a formal complaint because they fear the staff will retaliate. Some also worry, wrongly, that refusing an unwanted treatment will lead to eviction. (That is illegal.) As a result, a culture of acquiescence develops, and egregious behavior continues.

Authorities said a Raleigh County man swindled thousands from an elderly woman in Fayette County.

Joey Scott Voiers, 44, of Beckley, was arrested Wednesday and charged with obtaining money under false pretenses and financial exploitation of the elderly after a lengthy investigation led by the Fayette Sheriff's Department. Both charges are felonies.

Detectives investigated Voiers for months, and the charges against him allege he exploited the victim from 2008 to early 2013, when the matter was reported to deputies, according to a sheriff's department statement.

"The information gathered during this investigation indicates that Joey Voiers began renting an apartment from this elderly female around 2008 and agreed to perform repairs and renovations to her residence in exchange for a reduced rate of rent," Sheriff Steve Kessler said in the release.

"He apparently gradually won the trust of this elderly female and then began taking financial advantage of her."

Sunday, June 9, 2013

On July 8th 2010 Jimmy Suski had an accident and suffered a brain injury. He was taken to Regents hospital in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. By July 12th, Jimmy had contracted bacterial meningitis.

On August 3rd, 2010, Jimmy was transferred to Bethesda Hospital in St Paul Minnesota. Eventually, he was transferred yet again, this time to Robinsdale Hospital where he stayed approximately a week. Robinsdale documented stage 3 bed sores and the severe state of neglect that Jimmy appeared to be in.

Tammy, Jimmy's mother had been prevented from visiting with her son more than 1/2 hour per week, with a security guard present. Bethesda claimed initially that it was because she took pictures of her son. When they could produce no policy or rule that prohibited picture-taking, the charge was then changed to "interferrence with therapy". All of this is on tape.

Jimmy has been subjected to chemical restraint through the use of off-label black box label drugs, in combinations that can be deadly.

His family has no knowledge of his current condition or where he is being held hostage.

Did I mention that there was a huge catastrophic insurance payout that disappeared??

Yet another twist in the case involving a Galveston County judge who was indicted on criminal charges last week. You know the story the ex-fiance' told about the judge wanting to kill his ex-wife and kidnap his children and live with them in New Zealand? Well, was it just that, a story? Tara Compton testified Wednesday saying Dupuy had started moving forward with making the plan a reality. She says he bought a gun with a silencer, purchased bars of silver to cash in later, sent her a picture of a house in New Zealand, said he knew someone to buy fake passports from and she says he discussed staging a boating accident on Christmas vacation so they could then disappear to New Zealand and she says the plan was to tell his kids their mom was killed in a car crash.

This emergency custody hearing where all of this testimony is taking place was called after these allegations surfaced. Compton had also said she was afraid of what Dupuy might do to her. Well, today, two days after giving the other testimony, Compton's story wasn't exactly the same. She's now telling the court there was no plan to kill Dupuy's ex-wife and no plot to take the kids out of the country.

Instead, Compton told the court Dupuy was just frustrated and stressed and it was a simple conversation, not anything he planned to carryout. "He said IF he was going to do it (kill his ex-wife) that's how he said he would do it by going to his ex-wife's door wearing a ski mask or get a low-life to do it and have an airtight alibi. He didn't say he would do it," said Compton on the stand.

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NASGA (National Association to STOP Guardian Abuse, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) public-interest, civil rights organization formed by victims of unlawful and abusive guardianships and conservatorships. We seek legislative reform of existing law and upgrading of criminal penalties for court-appointed fiduciaries misusing protective proceedings for unjust enrichment and engaging in elder and family abuse.

Our mission is to promote the safety and well being of vulnerable persons subject to injury and damage in their person and property through unlawful and abusive guardianship and/or conservatorship proceedings; to end the growing violations of due process, civil and human rights; to work towards ultimate legislative reform of guardianship as presently practiced; upgrading of criminal penalties for court-appointed fiduciaries misusing protective proceedings for unjust enrichment; and to be a support organization for victims and their families. We carry out our mission through research, outreach, education and advocacy; and going forward, by alliance with community interest, law reform, civil rights and other advocacy organizations.

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